Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show on Monday:

Election Day is tomorrow. Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli are making thier final arguments to be the next governor of New Jersey.

Various polls have shown the race tightening in recent weeks, with Sherrill holding a slight advantage.

The Democrat will go into Tuesday with a sizeable advantage.

A million New Jersey residents took advantage of early voting, either by mail or in-person.

While we don't know who they voted for, we can see party affiliation.

More than 235,000 registered Democrats than Republicans have already cast a ballot.

There are also nearly 200,000 unaffiliated voters that cast a ballot before Election Day.

When final early voting figures are in on Monday, Ciattarelli may know how much ground he has to make up if he wants to avoid being a three-time loser in his quest to be governor.

⬛ Obama joins Mikie Sherrill on New Jersey campaign trail

🗳️ Barack Obama joins Mikie Sherrill in Newark days before Election Day.
📊 Polls show a tight race between Democrat Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
🚨 Independent voters likely will decide who becomes NJ's next governor.

NEWARK — With Election Day on Tuesday, former President Barack Obama joined Democrat Mikie Sherill at a campaign rally in Newark.

The Congresswoman faces three-time candidate, Republican Jack Ciattarelli, to fill the vacancy being left by Gov. Phil Murphy.

Obama first endorsed the former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor with a video message earlier this month.

Last week, Ciattarelli joined conservative media personality San Hannity for a Fox News town hall session in Point Pleasant.

On Monday, Nov. 3, his campaign has planned a "last stop" rally in Raritan Township, where he grew up.

⬛ NJ declares state of emergency as fed food stamps run out

🍎SNAP benefits for 800,000+ NJ residents are halted as the federal shutdown drags on
🍎 Gov. Phil Murphy rushes $42.5 million in emergency food aid to NJ food banks
⚖️ 25 states sue the Trump administration for refusing to release emergency SNAP funds

TRENTON – Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency effective midnight Nov. 1 as the Trump administration halts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for roughly 42 million people.

The pause of food stamps is one of the casualties of the federal government shutdown.

Among those millions of SNAP recipients are more than 800,000 New Jerseyans across 400,000 households. Almost half are children, nearly one in three are individuals with a disability, and one in five are over the age of 60.

Benefits averaged $187.20 per participant per month, last year, based on a formula called the USDA Thrifty Food Plan. This averages $6.37 per person per day.

Murphy's Executive Order No. 402 establishes a coordinated statewide response to ensure food access for vulnerable residents.

⬛ Flight delays persist as government shutdown leads to air traffic controller shortages

Flight delays continued at U.S. airports Sunday amid air traffic controller shortages as the government shutdown entered its second month, with Newark airport in New Jersey experiencing delays of two to three hours.

New York City’s Emergency Management office said on X that Newark delays often ripple out to the region’s other airports.

Travelers flying to, from or through New York “should expect schedule changes, gate holds, and missed connections. Anyone flying today should check flight status before heading to the airport and expect longer waits,” the social media post added.

⬛ Halloween house fire kills family of 5

🔥5 dead, including three children, in a Halloween night house fire in Paterson
🔥 First-floor residents said they tried but couldn’t reach trapped victims on 2nd floor
🔥 Fire spread rapidly due to strong winds; investigators still probing the cause

PATERSON — Two adults and three children died inside a house following a fire Halloween night.

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said the fire at the home on Emerson Avenue was reported around 9:50 p.m.

After firefighters stabilized the blaze, they found the bodies of a 39-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman, and children ages 14, 12 and 7. Fire chief Alex Alicea told Freedom News TV via News 12 the victims were on the second floor.

They were pronounced dead at the scene.

Mayor Andre Saygh the adult victims were the parents of the three children.

State Assemblyman Al Abdelaziz, D-Passaic, posted on Facebook the victims were relatives.

“Please keep my family in your prayers as we grieve the loss of my cousin, his wife, and their children,” Adbelaziz wrote, “Our hearts are broken, but we trust that God will give us strength during these difficult times.”

⬛ Running out of nurses: NJ school opens to help stop the bleed

🏫 RWJ Barnabas Health opens a new nursing school in Oceanport to tackle New Jersey’s growing nurse shortage.
👩‍⚕️ The state could face a shortfall of up to 24,000 registered nurses within a decade.
💡 The Oceanport campus offers cutting-edge labs, tech, and real-world training for career changers.

OCEANPORT — To address the looming nursing shortage in New Jersey, RWJ Barnabas Health has opened a second nursing school in Monmouth County.

Situated in Oceanport at the Old Fort Monmouth site at 283 Sherrill Avenue in Squier Hall, the school joins its existing nursing school in Elizabeth, said Mary Beth Russell, executive dean for RWJ Barnabas Health School of Nursing and senior vice president for the Institute for Nursing Excellence.

At the Oceanport location, 53 nursing students are part of the inaugural class, which began the program on September 9, 2025.

Start your day with up-to-the-minute news, traffic and weather for the Garden State.

The New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show airs from 6 - 10 a.m. on New Jersey 101.5.

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You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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